The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) has released the first in a series of ACSES Insights Reports on disability in higher education.
Funded by the Higher Education Disability Support Program Capacity Building Fund, the inaugural report – Stocktake of Public Information on Disability in Australian Universities – reviews publicly available website information from Australian universities against disability-related regulatory requirements. The report provides a point-in-time snapshot of how disability inclusion is communicated to students across areas including digital accessibility, admissions information, learning environments, student voice, enabling and teaching policies, and strategic priorities.
The report identified several positive findings across the sector.
Every university assessed was found to have a policy mediating the provision of reasonable adjustments consistent with obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act.
The report also found that 93% of universities exceed global education benchmarks for accessibility of home pages, consistent with obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act and the Higher Education Standards Framework.
The report also identified potential gaps in the ways Australian universities make themselves accessible to students with disability.
An assessment of more than 100 key documents, including strategic plans, annual reports, and disability action plans, identified few instances where accessibility requirements were satisfied, with 7% meeting PDF/UA criteria and 4% meeting WCAG 2.2 criteria.
The report found that only 7% of Australian universities publish complaint data consistent with obligations under the TEQSA Statement of Regulatory Expectations on student grievances and complaints, which come into effect in 2026.
The research also identified low engagement with universal design as a mechanism for making learning environments accessible to students with disability. While the language of universal design is being progressively integrated into higher education policy, including conditions applying to grants under the Disability Support Fund, the report found that 21% of Australian universities have a curriculum framework that makes explicit reference to disability.
ACSES said the purpose of publishing the findings is to support constructive capacity-building across the higher education sector and to support universities to respond to growing numbers of students with disability and strengthen inclusive practice.
ACSES welcomed engagement from universities, policymakers, and sector partners on how the evidence from the report can be refined and used to support continuous improvement.